Members of the public will be able to walk in the footsteps of famous BBC figures and classic programme characters for the first time in more than half a century after a decision by the new owner of Television Centre to throw open its gates.

Stanhope, the property company that bought the complex from the BBC last year for £200 million, will unveil its plans for redeveloping the 14-acre site in West London today.

The main part of the plan, drawn up by the architects Allford Hall Monaghan Morris, is to open Television Centre and its famous forecourt so that